May continued bringing with it a burst of warm weather that felt almost tropical. Or at least it did to Renee who was used to the cold weathers of the north.
As she stalked into the Palais ready to take that morning’s dance class, Renee passed the foyer and nodded good morning at one of the usherettes on duty. Renee’s mind had been racing since she got up. But then it always was these days. There would be a split second when she woke, when she would forget the horrors of the past and the trouble she knew she could never escape. In those blissful few seconds Renee was warm and content, with the world of dance at her feet. And then as she came to, reality would come crashing down and she would remember what her life was really like.
Just then, the sound of the door opening behind her pulled her into the present moment. She turned around and saw Temperance, Archie, Eamon and Maisie all looking at her in surprise.
‘Oh don’t mind me,’ Renee said, plastering on a small smile. ‘I’ll get out of your way.’
‘Sorry, Renee,’ Temperance began. ‘We didn’t mean to disturb you.’
‘Yeah we can come back another time,’ Archie said, looking hesitantly at the ground.
‘Not at all.’ Renee waved his concerns away. ‘In fact I’ll help you. As Temperance is going to help me with the classes it’ll be good to see how you’re getting on.’
With that she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, grateful for a distraction. She was just about to put on a record when she saw Eamon hovering by the piano.
‘You’re here to play for them aren’t you?’
Eamon nodded, a large grin on his face.
‘Shall we start with the valeta then?’ Renee asked Temperance who nodded.
As the music began, Renee watched Archie take Maisie in his arms and lead her around the dance floor in the simple, slow waltz. They were good but Archie was a revelation. She knew he could dance but in that moment Renee saw how he lit up the room, dancing as if he were on a cloud of air.
Maisie was indeed a natural but her inexperience showed, and it was obvious she was relying heavily on Archie. However, in the brief time Temperance had been instructing the couple she had done a good job. Renee turned to Temperance now and smiled encouragingly. She could see she had picked the right assistant to help her.
‘That was wonderful,’ Renee said as the song came to a close. ‘I can see you’re in capable hands.’
‘Well it’s these two that have done the hard work.’ Temperance smiled.
Eamon let out a loud groan. ‘You have to stop doing that, Temp.’
‘Doing what?’ Temperance looked at him in surprise.
‘Being modest. You’ve put in just as much work as these two.’
‘Hey!’ Maisie protested, before she coloured and then muttered, ‘Yeah, it’s true.’
Eamon laughed. ‘You and your sister are polar opposites.’
‘How d’you mean?’ Renee looked at Temperance’s brother with interest.
‘Just that you, Maisie, speak before you think and Vi seems to put a lot of thought into what she says.’
Maisie rolled her eyes at the compliment. ‘Tell that to our mother. The way those two are always going off at each other I don’t think either one of ’em puts much thought into what they say.’
Eamon laughed. Renee had enough on her plate without getting involved in other people’s rows. As she stalked towards the ladies’ she saw the familiar bulk of the resident MC coming towards her.
‘Bill,’ she muttered sullenly.
But instead of answering her Bill merely scowled. ‘I want a word with you.’
‘What?’ she snapped, hoping a brave face would deter him from saying anything else.
But Bill merely looked amused by her expression.
‘You look tired, Renee flower. Something keeping you awake at night?’
‘Only the thought of working with you,’ Renee shot back.
Bill smiled an insincere grin. ‘Seeing as you’ve got an answer for everything how about you tell me why you’ve only rostered my nephew on for two dances this week?’
Renee shook her hair around her shoulders and gave Bill a cool smile. ‘I believe the decisions about the dancers are mine. I don’t tell you how to MC a dance, don’t tell me how to manage my dancers.’
Renee’s answer left Bill puce with rage and he leaned in towards her. He was so close she could smell the kippers he’d had for breakfast.
‘If you don’t start using my Larry’s talents I’ll make mincemeat of you, d’you understand?’
Without waiting for an answer the resident MC pushed past her.
‘Always a pleasure talking to you, Bill,’ Renee called as he stalked off down the corridor.
Once Bill had gone, Renee reached into her pocket for a Craven A and lit up, hands trembling. She inhaled deeply to try and steady her nerves. Resting her head against the wall she couldn’t help wondering if she would ever be free to live a life without trouble.